A 45-minute, full-body toning workout, similar to Lotte Berk and Callanetics.

Advanced beginning to intermediate exercisers — like the other methods mentioned, these exercises are tougher than they appear! You will need light hand weights (1 to 5 pounds), a sturdy chair or barre, and a mat for floorwork if you are exercising on a hard floor.

Instructor Burr Leonard is incredibly fit, with a long, lean and nicely sculpted body. So at the beginning of the workout, when she mentions that she's in her late 50s, you are instantly motivated to put your all into these exercises! Like the Lotte Berk Method, the Bar Method uses a ballet barre or sturdy chair, and some of the moves are similar. (Burr got her initial training during the 1980s via the Lotte Berk studios.) This isn't a Lotte Berk clone workout however — you'll find a lot of exercises that are quite different (the butt-blasting Pretzel, for example), and this workout is actually tougher than most of the Lotte Berk DVDs (the bonus section of Muscle Eats Fat excepted). The exercises work the deep muscles to strengthen, tone and lengthen, and since the moves are small and subtle, you don't realize how difficult they are until they start burning! The 45-minute workout targets your whole body, beginning with your upper body (this is where you use the hand weights). From there, you go onto standing leg exercises, and then lower body exercises that target every muscle in your glutes. Like the rest of the workout, the ab section is a lot more powerful than it appears on the surface. You finish off with a good stretch, to keep your developing muscles long and flexible. If you want a lean and toned look (and who doesn't?), you should get this workout.